Apart from several white-ball series at home, Pakistan will also participate in two mega-events in the next 12 months. Indeed, it will be a tough year because there are many areas where the Pakistan team lacks.
The absence of a new-ball bowler is currently haunting Babar Azam-led Pakistan. Since Mohammad Amir has announced his retirement from international cricket, there is only one pacer who has the potential to effectively use the new ball.
During the last two years, Shaheen Shah remains the only consistent pacer to have performed well with the new ball where he was supported by either Imad Wasim or Mohammad Nawaz at the other end.
The absence of Shaheen hurt Pakistan as no bowler looked threatening with the new ball against Australia. In such cases, Pakistan will have to look to other options, which at the moment, are almost none.
Hasan Ali was once considered a world-class bowler but his performance with the new ball has been poor in the last couple of years. The right-arm pacer also failed to impress in the recently concluded PSL.
The likes of Shahnawaz Dahani and Haris Rauf, who are possibly the future of the Pakistan team, lack the ability to get early breakthroughs in the first powerplay. However, both are good with the old ball.
Faheem Ashraf often opens the bowling alongside Shaheen Afridi and his economy is decent, however, he is not an attacking option at the top.
Other emerging talents such as Wasim Jnr and Zaman Khan also love to bowl with the old ball instead of opening the innings. Mohammad Hasnain was a decent option, however, his ban has posed great challenges for the national team in shorter formats.
The likes of Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nawaz, and Shadab Khan can bowl impressive spells early on with the new ball Pakistan cricket team has been short of options in the pace department. Pakistan needs to prepare a top-class new-ball pacer for the upcoming events to be successful.
Looking at the performances in the domestic circuit, there are not many pacers in the top wicket-takers in the ongoing Pakistan Cup.
| Player | Inns | Overs | Runs | Wkts | BBI | Ave | Econ | SR | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khalid Usman (KP) | 11 | 100.5 | 480 | 23 | 5/8 | 20.86 | 4.76 | 26.3 | 1 |
| Yasir Shah (Balochistan) | 10 | 91.3 | 457 | 18 | 5/44 | 25.38 | 4.99 | 30.5 | 1 |
| Shahnawaz Dahani (Sindh) | 7 | 48.0 | 233 | 15 | 5/64 | 15.53 | 4.85 | 19.2 | 1 |
| Sohail Khan (Sindh) | 6 | 45.3 | 275 | 15 | 5/21 | 18.33 | 6.04 | 18.2 | 1 |
| Danish Aziz (Sindh) | 9 | 60.0 | 307 | 15 | 5/10 | 20.46 | 5.11 | 24.0 | 1 |
| Abrar Ahmed (Sindh) | 9 | 81.0 | 369 | 15 | 3/25 | 24.60 | 4.55 | 32.4 | 0 |
| Akif Javed (Balochistan) | 9 | 64.2 | 376 | 14 | 5/60 | 26.85 | 5.84 | 27.5 | 1 |
| Wahab Riaz (Central Punjab) | 9 | 53.3 | 273 | 13 | 4/22 | 21.00 | 5.10 | 24.6 | 0 |
| Imad Wasim (Northern) | 8 | 70.0 | 388 | 13 | 3/58 | 29.84 | 5.54 | 32.3 | 0 |
| Hussain Talat (Central Punjab) | 7 | 43.2 | 214 | 12 | 3/37 | 17.83 | 4.93 | 21.6 | 0 |
Looking at these, there are only 4 pacers in the top 10 performers until now. Note that these numbers have been taken before the start of the second semi-final between Balochistan and Sindh.
We have already discussed Dahani while Wahab Riaz is not a new ball bowler. Sohail Khan has also been given numerous chances to prove his worth, however, he hasn’t performed at the highest level up to expectations.
Akif Javed is a talented youngster, but he hasn’t yet made his debut for the national team. He hasn’t shown the spark that’s needed at the highest level, however, fans are hoping that he or someone young comes through the ranks to join Shaheen Afridi as a potent new-ball bowler.
Get the latest sports news, match updates, and player stories wherever you prefer.
Add ProPakistani to Preferred Sources and see more of our stories in Google Search and Top Stories.